After nearly 100 years, SF mortuary is alive and kicking

Locked away in the basement safe at the Duggan Welch funeral home on 17th street are old record books, some dating back to the days when the mortuary carried out funeral processions by horse and carriage.

Steven Welch, the current owner, flipped through the pages. The earliest books are in his great-grandfather’s cursive. Later documents are in his grandmother’s handwriting and then his father’s, and finally, his own.

After nearly 100 years in business – its centennial anniversary is officially next year – Duggan Welch Mortuary remains one of longest enduring mortuaries on what once used to be a corridor of funeral homes. READ MORE